Antenna tension take-up unit



V- 1952 w. A. VON WALD, JR., ET AL 2,616,139

ANTENNA TENSION TAKE-UP UNIT Filed Aug. 24, 1950 H T A R O n A INVENTORS WALTER A. VON WALD JR.

THOMAS EMARSHALL IE1: RICHARD B. BR\DGE "T U Hm 9% .T s mi N? n H IUH 2 Patented Nov. 4, 1952 ANTENNA TENSION TAKE-UP UNIT Walter A. Von Wald, Jr., Washington, D. 0., Thomas E. Marshall, III, Arlington, Va., and Richard B. Bridge, Greenbelt, Md.

Application August 24, 1950, Serial No. 181,252

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) 3 Claims.

This invention relates generally to line tightening devices and more particularly to take up devices for wire antennas.

In wire antenna installations it is customary to support the antenna some distance from the supporting structure by means of guy wires and strain insulators disposed at each end of the antenna. The desired tautness of the antenna wire is usually obtained by adjustment of the guy wires. The guy wires may be made of the same material as the antenna. In the case of insulated wire antennas designed to eliminate precipitation static, portions of the guy wires are likely to extend into regions susceptible to corona discharge and it becomes important to provide guy wires of highly insulated wire such as the antenna wire. Take-up devices suitable for tightening insulated wire without impairing the strength of the wire or its insulation are therefore required.

A further problem is presented by wire antennas since they cannot easily be dismounted without requiring readjustment of the tension when remounted. This is particularly noticeable in aircraft installations where it is often desired to dismount the antenna while parking or repairing the aircraft.

It is then an object of this invention to provide a line take-up device.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a take-up device for insulated wire.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a tension take-up device.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a tension take-up device incorporating a disconnecting means.

It is another object of this invention to provide a take-up device having a pivotal disconnectable mounting.

Other objects and features of this invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings wherein similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view oi one embodiment of this invention; I f Q Figs. 2a and 2b are enlarged views of a portion of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a variant embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of a complete take-up assembly; and

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of an antenna installation employing the embodiments of Figs. 1 and 3.

Briefly, this invention provides a wire take-up device having a wire-gripping chuck in a feed through arrangement whereby the wire may be pulled through the chuck until the desired tautness is obtained. The grippin action of the chuck prevents the wire from slipping back through the chuck. In another embodiment the chuck holder is spring loaded to maintain spring tension on the wire. The chuck holders are pivotally supported in a ball and socket type of joint which is disengageable when sufficient slack is present in the wire. In the tension embodiment this slack is readily provided by a locking means for holding the tension spring in compression. At

'the mouth of the chuck the wire is encased in an externally tapered member to prevent sharp bends in the wire.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, Fig. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of this invention. An outer tubular member I!) holds the chuck housing Ii, an inner tubular member 12 provides the feed through path "for the wire 13 and, as will be described, provides a pivotal support for the Wire gripping assembly.

The chuck housing II is secured by a rolled small end of bore 15. Spring Il may be retained within the housing H by means of a washer I8 disposed within a recess 19 in the housing I I surrounding the bore IS. The washer l 8 may be held in the recess by staking.

One end of inner tube i2 is terminated in a disc-like member 29 enough larger than tube !2 to snugly fit the inside of outer tube It]. Outertube H3 may be rolled over the edge of disc 25 to join same and permit the chuck housing to be supported from tube l2. The other end of tube I2 terminates in a ball and socket fitting to provide the pivotal support. The ball 2! has a hole through its center through which the inner tube l2 passes. Inner tube I2 is supported by ball 2! and retained thereon by the flared end of tube l2. The socket 22 for ball 2| is formed from a pair of mounting brackets 23 and 24 which are spaced apart for a suitable distance beyond the socket to permit insertion of the ball end of the assembly. The ball 2| may be hemispherically shaped as indicated in the drawings. The washer |8 and disc 20 each have a central aperture in alignment with the axis of coil spring ll, bore l5, and inner tube I2 to provide an opening through the entire assembly for the passage of wire 3. From the flared end of tube H. the end of wire l3 may be brought out to the side between the brackets 23 and 24 where it hangs or projects unattached as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Fig. 2a is an enlarged view of the jaws it as seen from their larger end. The adjacent faces of the jaws have identical longitudinal grooves 26 lined with teeth 21 for respectively receiving and gripping the wire l3.

Fig. 2b is an elevational view of the grooved face of one of the jaws 86. It will be noticed that the groove is flared at the smaller end of the jaw to facilitate insertion of the wire between the jaws.

After assembling the various parts as described above, the socket brackets 23 and 24 are mounted to any desired rigid supporting structure as by means of holes 33. An end of wire i3 is inserted into the bore of housing H, into the flared end of jaws [6, through grooves 26, through the center of washer l8, disc 2!), tube l2 and may then be pulled out to the side of brackets 23 and 24. Teeth 27 on the jaws tend to grip wire l3. As the wire is moved to the right (Fig. l), jaws IE will be carried to the right with it against the pressure of spring l'i. As the jaws move to the right they are permitted to separate because of the expanding taper of bore l and will release their grip on wire l3. Presuming the left end of wire |3 to be fixed, the right end may be pulled through the jaws l6 until the desired tautness is obtained in the wire. The wire will then remain taut since its own weight, or any other force, pulling the wire to the left will carry jaws l6 to the left with the wire. As jaws It move to the left the taper of bore l5 will cause teeth 27 to bite firmly into the wire.

In Fig. 3 a variant embodiment of this inventlon providing spring tension on the wire is shown in cross section. This embodiment em.- ploys a longer outer tube 3| and a longer inner tube 32 than tubes Ill and i2 respectively of Fig. 1. The longer outer tube 3| of Fig. 3 houses a pair of concentric springs 33 and 34 operating between a pair of disc bearings 35 and 36. A flange 37 is formed in the left end of inner tube 32. The springs 33 and 34 force bearing 35 against flange 31 through washer 33. The springs apply an opposite force against the right end of outer tube 3| through bearing 35 and its retaining ring 38. Concentric springs 33 and 34 are used in this embodiment instead of a single spring to reduce the overall length of the tubular members. By using concentric springs instead of a single spring the spring tension provided for the same spring length is nearly doubled.

Outer tube 3| is provided with a pair of longitudinal slots 40 and 4|, disposed opposite each other and extending from near the center to near the left end of the tube. The right end of each slot terminates in a short transverse slot indicated at 42. A knurled collar 43 is slidably mounted on tube 3| and has a pair of depending lips 44 and 45 entering the tube through slots 49 and 4| respectively. Lips 44 and 45 penetrate their respective .slots far enough to engage the left face of washer 39. Therefore, by moving collar 43 to the right against the springs to the end of slots 4|) and 4| and then turning the collar so that the lips 44 and 45 engage the transverse slots 42, the springs may be held in compression and slack is supplied to the antenna. This slack permits easy disengagement of the ball 2| from its socket 22.

An annular groove 46 circumscribes tube 3| near the left end of slots and 4|. A similar but slightly larger groove 41 circumscribes the inside of collar 43. A substantially triangular shaped ring 48 of spring wire rides inside the collar groove 47 and engages groove 46 when the collar is moved to the left and operates to hold the c ar out of the w y- Disc bearing 35 moves with inner tube 32 and hence slides against the inner surface of outer tube 3|. Disc bearing 36 moves with outer tube 3| and hence slides against inner tube 32. These bearings and the ball 2| are preferably made of oil impregnated bronze.

A number of holes 49 may be made in outer tube 3| to facilitate moisture drainage. Inner tube 32 may be reduced in size for a short length 5% near its entrance into ball 2|, thus the hole in ball 2| can be kept small to provide more bearing surface. Further advantage is found in the small diameter section 50 in that it permits greater deflection for a given size hole in the socket 22.

It will be noted in the elevational view of socket 22 shown in Fig. 4, that the socket end of the brackets 23 and 24 are continuous on one side but define a narrow slot 22A, on the other. This slot permits removal of the ball from the socket when slack is supplied to the wire as by holding the springs in compression. Removal is then accomplished by moving the entire fitting to the right until the ball 2| is opposite the open Side of the brackets 23 and 24, the inner tube may then be passed through the slot 22A as the ball is removed through the open side of the bracket. In the case of the embodiment of Fig. l, the inner tube i2 may be too short to permit the ball to move back to the opening in the brackets and will require the fitting to be pivoted so that the tube l2 can be moved through slot 22A and the a rem ved di onal y f om he bracke s Th mb diment of e- 3 i s own in eler i e in ie- 4 to e he ith a dd tional bra ket 52 d a ape ed wire sup rt 53., In t is View the components are shown strung along the wire but i connected to mor clear y present the fi t n s- The invention is here shown with insulated an;- n a W re.- the Wire s po t 3 i s a 1 i section ape mii viewi the an en a W et wi be n ted he nsula es i removed for a short distance ahead of the chuck u n *9 Per i a justm n of t h the Wire- Wire sup ort 5 Of e a ta e e sibility which prevents sharp bending of the wire at t e trance is he h e h i-ie u er s i rnal y th ea ed or i o' t heiea ternally threaded reduced size portion of chuck housing |.l It is preferred to adjust the wire length so that disc 35 is normally visible through slot 40 opposite the arrowmarked mid stroke. The socket bracket is here shown attached to a bracket 52 suitable for attaching to the skin 55 of an aircraft. As is more clearly shown in Fig. .4 the brackets 23 and 24 forming socket 22 are continuous on one side of the socket to pro vide g eat r earin urface a d a d gthto the socket.

A r pr enta i ant nna nsiall i n i shQWn in Fig. 5. Typically the takerup unit shown Fig. 1 is used at one end of the [antenna and the tension take-up unit shown in Fig. is used a the othe As s ewn n F .5 e t k p ni 0 i u d a th le t an a tens n ta a t BI is used at the right to support the antenna 62.

The antenna is insulated and further supported by a pair of strain insulators 63 and 54 such as disclosed in the copending application of W. A. Von Wald, Jr. and H. H. Slaughter, Jr., Serial No. 132,962, filed December 14, 1949. A lead-in from the antenna suspension is obtained through a T-connector 65 such as disclosed in the aforesaid copending application and may be brought into the aircraft through a lead through insulator 56 such as disclosed in the copending application of W. A. Von Wald, Jr. and 'I. E. Marshall, III, Serial No. 99,823, filed June 17, 1949.

Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been herein disclosed and described, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of this invention and modifications may, of course, be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

1. A wire take-up device comprising, a Wire gripping chuck having spring loaded jaws operating in a tapered recess and a wire receiving channel therethrough, an outer tubular member attached to and partially encasing said chuck, an inner tubular member in axial alignment with said Wire channel and protruding from said outer tubular member, spring tension means including a coil spring coaxial with said inner tubular member and having one end in engagement therewith and the other end in engagement with said outer tubular member, a substantially ball-shaped means attached to the protruding end of said inner tubular member and apertured to provide access thereto, and socket means having an open side for admitting said ball-shaped means and the protruding end of said inner tubular memher.

2. A wire take-up device comprising, a wire gripping chuck having spring loaded jaws operating in a tapered recess and a wire receiving channel therethrough, an outer tubular member attached to and partially encasing said chuck, an inner tubular member in axial alignment with said wire channel and protruding from said outer tubular member, spring tension means including a coil spring disposed within and having one end in engagement with said outer tubular member, said spring being coaxial with, partially encasing and having its other end in engagement with said inner tubular member, a substantially ballshaped means attached to the protruding end of said inner tubular member and apertured to provide access thereto, and socket means having an open side for admitting said ball shaped means and the protruding end of said inner tubular member.

A wire take-up device comprising, a wire gripping chuck having spring loaded jaws operating in a tapered recess and a wire receiving channel therethrcugh, an outer tubular member attached to and partially encasing said chuck, an inner tubular member in axial alignment with said Wire channel and protruding from said outer tubular member. spring tension means including a coil spring disposed within and having one end in engagement with said outer tubular member, said spring being coaxial with, partially encasing and having its other end in engagement with said inner tubular member, a pair of L-shaped substantially longitudinal slots in said. outer tubular member, a collar slidably mounted on said outer tubular member and having a pair of depending lips engaging said spring through said slots, a substantially ball-shaped means attached to the protruding end of said inner tubular member and apertured to provide access thereto, and socket means having an open side for admitting said ball-shaped means, said collar being operative to hold said spring in compression to facilitate disengagement of said ball from said socket.

WALTER A. VON WALD, JR. THOMAS E. MARSHALL, III. RICHARD B. BRIDGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 419,545 Olson Jan. 14, 1890 718,948 Green Jan. 20, 1903 823,594 Frazee June 19, 1906 1,258,102 Foster Mar. 5, 1918 1,814,609 Smith July 14, 1931 2,105,178 Berndt Jan. 11, 1938 2,139,642 Osolin Dec. 6, 1938 2,214,961 Hawley Sept. 17, 1940 2,286,655 Supnick June 16, 1942 2,288,138 Jugle June 30, 1942 2,438,548 Ehmann Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 141,088 Great Britain Apr. 6, 1920 

